Splint-drying apparatus for match-machines.



W. A. FAIRBURN. SPLINT DRYING APPARATUS FOR MATCH MAGHINES. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1914.

1,127,421 Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

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' Patented Feb.9,1915.

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n snares Parana orrrcn WILLIAM A. FAIRBURN, OF SHORT HILLS, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE DIAMOND MATCH COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SPLINT-DR'YING APPARATUS FOR MATCH-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

Application filed June 3, 1914. Serial No. 842,574.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. FAIRBURN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Short Hills, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Splint- Drying Apparatus for Match-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to splint drying apparatus for match machines, having reference more especially to a modification of and improvement in the structure set out in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,044,155, dated November 12, 1912; The said patented apparatus comprises, among other things, a drying chamber, a heater in the lower part thereof, a radiating member in close relation to said heater, wheels mounted and arranged within the chamber to support and guide the splint carrier chain in a sinuous path with the splint-bearing face of the chain progressing adjacent said radiating member, and means for establishing a current of air through said chamber, such air being subjected to the action of the heater at the bottom of the chamber and then directed to and through the sinuous path of the chain, escaping thence at or near the top of the chamber.

According to my present invention, the drying chamber, the heating devices and the air supply devices are so constructed and arranged in respect to each other and to the path of the splint-carrier chain through the chamber that hot dry air is introduced into the top of the chamber and is diffused throughout the same and among the traveling splints in a manner to attain the maximum drying efficiency of the air.

My invention comprises various features of construction and operation which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a splint-drier embodying my invention, a part of the splint-carrier chain being indicated as traveling through the'structure. Fig. 2 is a vertical section,-as on the line 22 of Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a section, enlarged, of a portion of the casing, showing one of the guides for the splint carrier chain. Fig. 4 is a transverse section, as on the line 4-4 of 'Fig. 1, the chain being omitted,

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a casing of sheet-metal or other suitable material which may have its walls air-jacketed or otherwise insulated. In the present in stance the casing is constructed to provide What may be termed a cruciform chamber within which the splint-carrier chain 11 is guided in a prolonged sinuous up and down course; that is to say, the chain enters an opening 12 at the lower portion of the chamber, rises vertically therein and passes to and about curved guides 13 on the inner side walls of one of the lateral extensions of the chamber, thence passing downward and around a small guide wheel 11 in he lower part of the chamber; thence rising to and passing around curved guides 13' on the inner side walls of the upward extension of the chamber; thence passing downward and around a small wheel 15 in the lower part of the chamber; thence rising to and passing around curved guides 18 on the inner side walls of the other lateral extension of the chamber; thence passing downward and out through an opening 16 in the lower portion of the wall of the chamber. The number of loops or courses of the carrier chain, in its travel through the chamber, may be increased or diminished, and the guides for the chain may be of any approved character, without in either case departing from my invention.

Within each of the extensions of the chamber is supported a drum 17 between which and the adjacent bend of the traveling chain is a space for the unobstructed passage of the inwardly projecting splints.

Confined within the drum is a radiatorcoil 18 the ends of which are connected with and supported by steam inlet and outlet pipes 19, 20 extending axiallythrough fittings 1n the side walls of the casing. Thus the body of the drum is heated and the splints 1n their travel about the same are subjected directly to the heat.

Supported in spaced relation to each other within the chamber are vertically-disposed heaters 21-in the present instance three in number-which are so arranged relatively to the course of the chain that the splint bearing face of the chain travels upwardly and downwardly adjacent each of the heaters, thus subjecting the splint for a drying action of the radiant prolonged period directly to the radiant heat from the heaters. These heaters, in their preferred construction, comprise vertically-disposed rows of, steam-pipes which are connected at their lower or discharge ends by a common header 22, the top of each row being connected by a separate header 23 with which communicatesa steam inlet pipe 24. The lower header 22 is provided with a drain and drip pipe 25 leading to a suitable point of' discharge. By the heater construction just described it will .be seen that as rapidly as the steam is condensed in each of the rows of pipes, the water of condensation is discharged at the bottom, thus insuring a high and uniform degree of heat through the pipes. erably steam coils 26 are located in the vertical spaces between theabacl'i-portions of the chain, but these coils, although desirable, are not essential.

Opening into the annular spaces adjacent the respective drums 17 are pipes '27 leading from a main air-supply pipe 28, whereby the air is distributed into the paths of the splints as they are carried about the said drums. The air thus supplied is hot and of low humidity. It impinges directly against the partially dried splints and rapidly absorbs the moisture therefrom. The air thus becoming heavier tends to settle to the bottom of the chamber, whence it, in. conjunction with the cooler saturated air, is withdrawn by a suitable fan or the like (not shown) connected with an exhaust pipe 29 leading from the contracted bottom portion 30 of the chamber.

It is to be noted that the incoming hot dry air and the out-going cooler saturated air establish a continuous current from the top to the bottom of the chamber, and that the hot air at its highest point of efficiency is maintained in intimate contact with the splints by the cylindrical bodies of the drums 17. These bodies are preferably provided with circumferential deflecting plates 31 which tend to direct theincoming hot air'to and among the proximate splints on the chain.

I preferably, though not essentially, arrange exteriorly of the casing, at the torn thereof, two upwardly converging nozzle heads 32 which are directed toward the inlet and discharge openings 12, 16, respectively. These nozzles are connected by means of branch pipes 33 with a common pipe 34 through which hot air is forced, and are adapted to direct streams of such air in sheet formation against the splints as they enter and leave the chamber. The branch pipes are provided with valves 35 whereby the flow of air to the nozzles and each of them can be cut-off or regulated as desired.

I claim- 1. In splint drying means for match machines having a splint carrier-chain, a cascourse,

Pref-' boting, means for guiding the carrier chain therethrough in an up and down sinuous means for introducing hot air directly into the upper part of the casing adjacent the path of the splints on the carrier, and an air exhaust at the foot of the casing.

2. In splint drying means for match machines having a splint carrier chain, a casing, a vertically-disposed heater therein, means for guiding the carrier chain throughsaid casing in a loop embracing said heater, whereby the splint-bearing face of the chain travels adjacent the respective sides of said heater, and means for establishing a current of air in said casing.

3. In splint drying means for match machines having a splint carrier chain, a casing, a vertically-disposed heater. therein, means for guiding the carrier chain through said'casing in a vertical loop embracing said heater, whereby the splint-bearing face of the chain travels adjacent the respective sides of said heater, means for introducing hot air directly into the upper part of the casing adjacent the path of the splints on the carrier, and an air exhaust at the foot of the casing.

4. In splint drying means for match machines having a splint carrier chain, a casing, Vertically-disposed steam pipes therein, means for guiding the carrier chain through said casing with the splint-bearing face of the chain adjacent said pipes, a steam inlet for the tops of said pipes, a steam outlet for the bottoms of said pipes, means for intro' ducing hot air into the upper part of the casing adjacent the path of the splints on the carrier chain, and an air exhaust at the foot of the casing.

5. In splint drying means for match machines having a splint carrier chain, a casing, a vertically-disposed heater therein, means for guiding the carrier chain through said casing in a loop embracing said heater,

whereby the splint-bearing face of the chain travels adjacent the respective sides of said heater, a drum arranged in spaced relation to the bend of the chain, means for-introducing air directly into the space between the drum and the opposing face of the chain, and an air exhaust at the foot of the casing.

6. In splint drying means for match machines having a splint-carrier chain, a casing, a series-0f vertically-disposed heaters therein in spaced relation 'to each other, means for guiding the carrier chain through said casing in vertical loops embracing the successive heaters, whereby the splint-bearing face of the chain travels adjacent the respective sides of the said heaters, means for introducing hot air into the upper part of the casing at points adjacent the tops or bends of the respective loops of the chain, and an air-exhaust at the foot of the casing.

7. In splint drying means for match machines having a splint-carrier chain, a casand the opposing face of the chain, and an ing, a vertically-disposed heater therein, air exhaust at the foot of the casing. means for guiding the carrier chain through Signed at New York in the county and said casing in a loop embracing said heater, State of New York this 1st day of June 5 whereby the splint-bearing face 05 thefchaig A. D. 1914.

travels adjacent the respective si es 0 sai heater, a drum arranged in spaced relation WILLIAM FAIRBURN' to the bend of the chain, means for heating Witnesses: the interior of the drum, means for intro- FRANCES R. GRIFFIN,

10 ducing air into the space between the drum B. CHANDLER SNEAD. 

